Tuesday, March 15, 2005
From "Kertesz on Kertesz" referring to the photo scene when he moved to the U.S. in 1936:
"I was out of place. Here they want technical perfection. At this time modern photography was what the f/64 group represented. Look, if you want to learn how to write, you study the alphabet and exercise every day. And in the end you have a very beautiful alphabet. But what are you writing with the alphabet? Perfect technique but expressing nothing. This is what I call "calligraphic photographs a l'americaine." That was the formula here. A good subject killed by millions of details that you may not need for a picture. You need expression to create a picture, not simply technique."
His comments are as appropriate now as then.
"I was out of place. Here they want technical perfection. At this time modern photography was what the f/64 group represented. Look, if you want to learn how to write, you study the alphabet and exercise every day. And in the end you have a very beautiful alphabet. But what are you writing with the alphabet? Perfect technique but expressing nothing. This is what I call "calligraphic photographs a l'americaine." That was the formula here. A good subject killed by millions of details that you may not need for a picture. You need expression to create a picture, not simply technique."
His comments are as appropriate now as then.
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